The rise in security

Arguably the biggest requirement of any network is that it is safe. This is true of all tech, as security becomes more and more important in both daily life and business thanks to the ever-growing world of hacking.

So why is security so important to technology, and what kind of threats are we facing?

Well, Syntax IT Support London is going to tackle these questions by taking a look at how web security has evolved over the years in its war against cybercrime. We’ll also be answering the even more important question of just what kind of security changes we’ll be experiencing in 2017.

The history of security

Internet security is not a new thing. For as long as we’ve been able to use data, there have been security measures in place to help us do it safely. But each passing decade has seen these measures become more and more advanced in the face of new cyber threats.

The 1990s was an age of perimeter security – in other words, a simple safety strategy which ensured you and your individual devices were as safe as they could be. It was a simpler time, free from many of the hacking techniques thriving today, but it did see the introduction of Firewall and the IPS.

Then in the 2000s we saw a rise in the web security we know today. This is because of the introduction of the Cloud and data mobility, meaning threats were becoming more commonplace. The 2010s have seen a greater response to these threats in the form of Cloud security, such as the Web Application Firewall.

It’s predicted that the 2020s will see a surge in automation and resistance, with network and security converging like never before. 2017 is closing in on this timeframe, so security is sure to boost in the next 12 months.

The threats we’re facing

So what exactly does web security protect us from? Well 2016 was the year that many new tech threats emerged, ones that security companies found it hard to handle at the time.

From the rise in the Internet of Things and all the possible threats to data and personal details that surround it, to the allegations of manipulated bots spewing fake news in an attempted to rig the US election, there were some strange new enemies to the IT community last year.

Ransomware was another big player in hacking circles – encrypting important files and only releasing them again once the owners had forked over a cash sum. These are just examples of the dangers hacking poses, and the ways it can affect our everyday lives.

2017’s security boost

But it’s not all doom and gloom. These new threats have made the security side of the fight much more savvy when it comes to tackling hacking. Gartner estimates that the security industry will reach over $120 billion in 2017, showing a huge gross over 2016 and making it clear that no one is taking IT security lightly any more.

No company should still be thinking ‘it won’t happen to me’ when it comes to cybercrime. Instead they are actually assuming that it will, and having the proper disaster recovery plan in place for when it does. The general feeling of internet hacking in 2017 is that it can’t possibly get any worse, and this means that more is being done to ensure that it doesn’t.

This is why 2017 will see the start of IT security taking the reigns over cybercriminals. Network and security are no longer two separate conversations – one cannot be delivered without the other, and the security industry is determined to deliver.